Reference is made to WO 2009/061943 A9, Publication 14 May 2009 Entitled: Micro Rheometer for measuring flow viscosity and elasticity for micro sample volumes, and Helen L. Bandey et al. (Helen et al), Blood rheological characterization using the thickness-shear mode resonator, Biosensors and Bioelectronics 19, 1657 (2004).
Choice of Materials
The device described in WO 2009/061943 A9 involves electrodes of Au (gold), and it is therefore very sensitive to high temperatures. The devices disclosed in WO 2009/061943 A9 are explicitly described as being fabricated using clean-room techniques, which involve less corrosion and heat-resistive metals.
Mobility and Robustness Against Varying Working Conditions
Even though the fluid characterization in both WO 2009/061943 A9 and Helen et al involves small microchannel, these two devices, as described in WO 2009/061943 A9 and Helen et al., cannot be realized in a mobile handheld device of the same dimensions and weight as for the invention (described above), because they both depend on a pump producing a fixed precise volume-flowrate. With present prior art technology, such pumps must be syringe-pumps, which exceeds more than 10 fold the volume and weight of the invention, as described above.
Further Drawback
The devices and methods disclosed in WO 2009/061943 A9 and Helen et al also suffer the draw back of being less efficient, difficult to produce and sensitive to external influences.